


A Family Man

by camichats



Category: Charmed (TV 1998), Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Getting Together, Pregnant Sex, Sexual Content, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-24 11:36:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20705345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: With the yellow-eyed demon dead, Dean retires from hunting. He doesn't expect for a routine set-up at his job one night to end with starting to date Piper, but he's not complaining.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Lmao the audience of this fic is one (1) and it is me. That being said, if somebody reads this and enjoys it I'd like to know :D

Piper was obviously pregnant. Her other kid was around a year old, so she was almost certainly still with the father, whoever that might be. She didn't wear a wedding ring, but some people didn't, and besides, Dean had heard that pregnancy made your fingers swell up so it was possible that she _ did _ usually wear her ring, she just couldn't right now. Anyways, the point was that she wasn't interested in anyone-- let alone Dean-- but there was no harm in looking. Especially when she was _ that _ gorgeous. It wasn't a model sort of beauty like Dean used to shoot for when he was hunting and dropping by bars for some diversion, but she was undoubtedly gorgeous. 

With the yellow eyed demon gone and Sam back at college, Dean needed to do something with his life, and living on the run with a string of crimes following him wasn't as appealing as it used to be. Working at a nightclub wasn't exactly settling down, but at least he had a legitimate work history now. Besides, P3 was great, and Piper hadn't blinked at giving him his first several paychecks in cash before he had enough to open a bank account. 

Funny as it was to think about, he was bonafide now. Sam would bust out laughing if he could see him now. Then again, Sam was a can of worms he didn't want to mess with right now. Or any time soon. He unlocked the door and started down the stairs, hesitating in one of his steps when he saw Piper sitting at the bar, head hung at whatever she was thinking about. 

"Piper? What are you doing here so early?" 

She startled, but in the next moment, she seemed perfectly at ease, turning around to smile at him. "Hey Dean. I was-" she gestured vaguely, "talking to Chris." 

"Chris is here?" Dean asked hopefully. Chris was always happy to see him, and he was probably the best friend Dean had right now. 

"He just left." 

"Damn." At Piper's bemused look, he added, "I like him. Guy's my only friend around here." 

"Huh." She had her head cocked slightly, like she was putting together a puzzle that Dean couldn't see. 

"Uh... something wrong with that?" he asked, a little nervous. Chris felt like his best connection to the normal world, but Piper was his boss; if she fired him, he was screwed, and he wasn’t sure his friendship with Chris was good enough to risk his life for. 

"No, of course not. It's just, Chris doesn't get along with... people. Not usually anyways." 

"Must mean I'm special," he joked, smirking. 

Piper seemed to take him seriously though, her expression thoughtful. "Must be. You want some help setting up?" she offered, already getting out of her seat. 

"You don't have to, I'm fine." 

"You know, between you and my family, I'm liable to blow something up if I keep getting side-lined like this." 

Dean shrugged. "It's your club, do what you want." 

Piper raised an eyebrow, trying to project snootiness though she was obviously amused. "I will." 

After a minute, Piper put on some music to pump through the speakers. Weird as it might sound, Dean had the best prep shift ever. He didn't really think about it through the dancing-along's and mouthing-the-word's party they had on the fly. "It's been a while since I've had this much fun," Piper said. 

"Me too, "he admitted. And what fun he _ had _ had in the past was often interspersed with hunts that went to hell, so the memories were sour to him. Even his time with Sam hadn’t been like this, with Sam always trying to keep them going so he could get back to his ‘real’ life. Any time Dean had tried to make light of the situation, Sam had glared at him or gotten all moody. 

"With Leo and everything," she started to explain before trailing off as her happy mood faltered. 

"Who's Leo?" 

"Ex-husband," she said, making a face. She ran a hand over her swelling stomach, and Dean could imagine what that 'everything' entailed. Learning that she was single had no victory since she was clearly left in a bad spot by it. 

"Sounds like an asshole," he said flatly. Say what you want about John Winchester, but at least he'd loved his wife. 

"You don't know anything about him," Piper said, but she was holding back laughter. 

"Going from your reaction, I'm guessing he left you. Right?" 

Still looking amused, she nodded. 

Dean shrugged. "Then he's an asshole." 

Piper laughed, looking lighter for it. "It's not actually that simple, but... thanks. I can't really talk to anyone else about it. I mean, I could, but I don't want to unload to my sisters about it. They'd try to make it better, and he'd be around for a bit, and then he'd leave again to work for the 'greater good'." 

"Bastard sounds like my dad," Dean said. Oh John had been obsessed with revenge, but he'd made the decision to sacrifice his sons' childhoods so that other families wouldn't suffer the way he had. The way 'they' had suffered was how he phrased it, of course. Dean had thought about it a lot since he and Sammy went their different ways after ganking the monster, and he still didn't know how he felt about it, because it wasn’t just their childhoods that had been messed with, it was their entire lives. 

"Sounds complicated." 

Dean snorted. "That ain't the half of it." He shook off the topic and tried a smile. "Thanks for the help." 

"No problem. It's nice to feel useful for once." 

"He must be crazy to leave you behind," Dean muttered, not really meaning to. 

The way Piper looked at him though, it was clear that she'd heard. 

Dean cleared his throat, blushing. God it had been so long since he'd blushed that it only served to make him more nervous. "Sorry." 

"Don't be." 

There was a charged moment where they looked at each other. 

It wasn't actually a surprise in the moment that it happened, but leading up to it confused him. Piper was shorter than him by half a foot, so she had to lean up and pull his face down to meet her in order to reach. She was kissing him, and there was none of the vibrant electricity all his past relationships had demanded. This was soft and comfortable, and he leaned down further so she wasn't straining. His hands went to her hips automatically, and he could just barely feel the swell of her stomach against his palms. 

"I um," Piper licked her lips as they stopped. "I hope that wasn't inappropriate of me." 

"I'm pretty sure I was the one that hit on you." 

"Still, I'm your boss. If you're worried this might affect your job-" 

"It won't." Dean kissed her again, and for an instant she kissed him back. 

She pulled back abruptly, taking a few steps to give him space. "I have a child. I'm about to have another." 

"I know. Wyatt's a great kid. I'd like-" Dean stopped, rubbed his hand over his jaw and tried again. "If you'd let me, I think I could be decent at the whole family thing. If that's what you want." 

"It's complicated," she said with a sad smile. She wanted to give in, that much was clear, but with (almost) two children, she had more at stake than her heart. 

"What isn't? I just-" Dean swallowed, "I think this could work if we tried." 

"My life is... it's _ too _ complicated, Dean. I can't drag you into that." 

Sensing that her mind was made up, Dean nodded. "Right." He looked away, feeling hot and embarrassed. "If that's how you feel then-." He nodded again. "I uh, should go unlock the door for the crew, they'll be here soon." 

"Sounds good," Piper said, and he ignored the strain in her voice since she'd been nice enough to not point out the one in his. 

He was in a bit of a mood for the rest of the night, but he was pretty sure no one noticed. It's not like he blamed Piper for her choice-- she did have children and her closely-knit family to consider amongst whatever other family drama they had-- but it was still depressing. He hadn't thought he had a chance for so long, and then for one great moment, he'd had it. Even better, Piper was the one that had kissed _ him_, not the other way around. This is what real life was like though right? Relationships didn't get out of the starting gate, and his biggest worry was whether or not the pizza place down the road from his apartment would be open by the time he got home. 

He got to leave promptly when the actual concert started, so he made it back with plenty of time to grab a pizza. Absolutely delicious, cheap, dripping grease pizza. He felt better just thinking about it. He didn't want to subject Baby's seat to that though, so he parked in the apartment's garage and walked the half-block over. 

As soon as he was out the door, he folded a piece in half and shoved it in his mouth, juggling the box for a moment as he closed it and got everything back in order. Pizza couldn't fix everything, but that's where pie came in, to fix the other half. He didn't have pie though, so this would have to do for tonight. 

He turned on the tv and polished off the rest of the box. Then he realized that he was still in jeans and changed into sleep pants, shucking off his shirt and throwing it in the laundry hamper-- because he had a laundry hamper now, that was the kind of turn his life had taken. He sat back on the couch and wondered if he should even attempt sleeping yet. It wasn't too late, and he was used to staying up for a few more hours when he was closing at P3. Laying in bed might be pointless and only serve to make it harder to get to sleep. 

A knock came at the door, and he frowned. A few people knew where he lived, but it's not like they ever _ visited_. Chances were it was someone who had the wrong apartment, a common problem with half the numbers peeled or missing from the doors. He looked through the peephole out of habit, then frowned at what he saw: Piper. Why was Piper at his doorstep? 

He unhooked the chain and unlocked the door, opening it slowly. "Piper? What are you doing here?" 

"I was hoping we could talk. About earlier." 

Dean's frown deepened, even as he opened the door wider to let her in. "I thought we said everything we needed to." 

"Not really." She ran a hand through her hair as she walked in, the long strands seamlessly falling into their new place. 

He closed the door but didn't lock it, not wanting her to feel confined. 

"Listen," she said, turning to him. She hesitated, eyes trailing over his bare torso. Her cheeks pinked, but she brought her eyes back up to his face like it didn't happen. "My family requires a lot from me, and from anyone I'm dating. Leo-- my ex-husband-- he knew about the details from the start so I didn't have to worry about it, and it just seems like every time I find someone new, they can't handle it." 

"I think you'd be surprised at how much I can take." He crossed his arms over his chest, and Piper's eyes flickered down automatically. 

"I'd love to find out, but it. It's too big a risk." 

"You said that earlier, Piper," he said, not judging. "We already talked about this, why are you here?" 

She hesitated, and he understood: she _ wanted _ to give in, but she needed to be convinced, for him to take the first step. 

He swallowed, wondering if this was the right decision but knowing he was going to try it anyways. "You know, it doesn't have to be that serious. We can... try it on. See if it goes anywhere, and deal with the problems as they come." 

"I have a kid," she reminded him, but it was obvious now that she felt that she needed to remind him, not that it was a denial. 

"That doesn't mean you can't have fun." 

"Pregnant ladies don't really get to have fun if it's not about the pregnancy." 

"Says who?" Dean made a show of looking around the apartment, then stepped closer so they were in the same space. "I don't see anyone here but you and me." 

He started to lean down, giving her plenty of time to change her mind. Plenty of time to say 'actually you know what I was wrong, sorry'. But she didn't. She tilted her head up, smiling slightly when he bumped their noses together teasingly before pressing their lips together. It shouldn't have been a life-changing moment, but the way they molded together felt like something he'd been missing his whole life. One of her hands came up to help hold him in place, her fingers curling around the back of his neck. Her other hand went up to his arm, curving to the skin easily as he put his hand in the middle of her back and pulled her closer. 

It had been a long time since Dean kissed someone for so long his lips started to feel sore, but here it was, happening to him as a grown-ass adult. He had an ache in his back from leaning down for so long, but he didn't want to stop. He felt absolutely desperate, his cock hard and straining against his boxer-briefs, and his best comfort was that Piper didn't look much better. Her pupils were blown wide, and her cheeks were stained red with want. Both of their lips were swollen from kissing for so long. Taking a chance, Dean asked, "Do you want to come to my room?" 

"Yes," she said immediately, before he had time to worry that he was pushing for too much. It was a small place, so they were in his room a few seconds later. 

"Can I take this off?" Dean asked, sliding his hands under her shirt on the sides. In response, she lifted her arms, so Dean picked up the edges and pulled it up. His eyes roved over her skin, and he followed it with his hands a moment later when he realized he could. "You're gorgeous," he breathed. He kissed her again, fingers playing with the clasp on her bra in question. 

She gave his arms a squeeze in answer, and he flicked his fingers, undoing it. Piper stepped back and dropped it on the ground, then pushed her pants past her hips and climbed on his bed. She lay there, head propped up on pillows and legs slightly spread showing trimmed pubic hair and a glistening entrance. 

"So fucking gorgeous," he muttered, pushing his pants and underwear down in one go. He knew it would be smarter to grab a condom and lube now, but he wanted to kiss her again and nothing was going to stop him from doing that. 

Piper groaned, one of her legs curving over Dean in an instinctual bid to keep him there. "Dean," she gasped. "Please." 

"Sorry," he said quickly, giving her a quick peck. "Didn't mean to tease. Just can't stop kissing you." He kissed her cheek three times in rapid succession, causing her to giggle. He grinned, giving her one last kiss before rolling off her and rifling through the nightstand. He opened a condom packet, then hesitated before putting it on. "You sure you want this?" 

Instead of making some sort of joke about how ready she was, she grinned at him. She had a few crooked teeth, and in the light of the streetlamps, it was obvious she was pregnant. Her hair was half stuck under her back and half splayed out on his cheap sheets. Dean had never wanted someone more. "I'm sure," she said. "Come on and show me how good our relationship can be." 

He grinned back at her. "I can do that, no problem." He rolled on the condom, following it with a little lube just to be safe. Once he was back between her legs, she bent her knees to make the angle better. He slid inside slowly, knowing that he could go faster but wanting to take his time. Piper was warm and wet, and he wanted this to last forever at the same time he wanted to fuck her hard and give both of them the completion they were craving. 

Dean rocked into her, responding to each of her gasps of pleasure with a moan of his own. It was slow and sweet, building up so leisurely that he was almost surprised when he came, grinding their hips together as she clutched at his shoulders. 

"God, Dean, that was," she trailed off with an appreciative laugh. 

Feeling very proud of himself, he smiled, giving her another kiss. "Yeah." Laying on top of her was lots of fun for him, but certainly less for her, so he rolled to the side, carefully taking the condom off so he wouldn't make a mess. 

"Mm." Her eyes closed, and she looked like she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep just as she was. "Can I use your bathroom?" 

"Sure. It's just right over there," he said unnecessarily, pointing in its direction. 

"Thanks." She pushed herself up and went over. After she peed, she walked back over and sat on the bed. 

"You can stay if you want." He'd prefer it that way, of course, but they'd agreed that this didn't have to be serious. 

Piper thought it over, then laid down. "Maybe for a little bit." She stretched her arms with a satisfied groan, and Dean took the chance to use the bathroom himself and get cleaned up. He went back to the living room and locked the door. 

He'd expected for it to be awkward when he got back because that's what he was used to, but there was a comfortable air in the room when he got under the covers with her. Getting to sleep had always been easier after sex, and this time was no exception. 

It was a rude awakening when a phone started ringing, echoing in the sparsely decorated room. "What the-" He reached for his on the nightstand automatically, but it was silent. 

Piper groaned, throwing the covers off of her and rifling through her pant's pockets on the ground until she found it. She flicked it open with an annoyed, "What?" as she sat back on the bed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Is something wrong? Was there an attack?" Pause. "Then why-?" She blew out a breath. "Yeah, I'm sorry, I forgot to call. No I'll be home in a little bit." She rolled her eyes as she got back up and started picking up her clothes. "Don't come get me, I drove. I swear to god Paige, you worry more than Chris. Yeah yeah, I love you too." She hung up and rubbed her eyes. 

"Everything okay?" Dean asked, voice rough from sleep. 

"Yeah, my family's just worried. I forgot to tell them I wouldn't be by until late." 

Dean checked his clock. They hadn't been asleep more than an hour, which explained why he felt so stupidly tired right now. He ran a hand over his face, then sat up. He grabbed a pair of underwear and slid them on, then helped Piper gather the rest of her clothes. 

"Thanks," she said, then again when she was at the door. She pulled him down for another kiss. "I had a great time. See you around?" 

"Definitely. Have a safe drive." 

They smiled at each other again, and she left, hair softly tousled in a way that made Dean's heart ache.


	2. Chapter 2

Several dates and, ahem, _ much _ more sex later, Piper and Dean's relationship had officially progressed from casual to seriously dating. Which meant that today they were going on a date, and instead of meeting at his place or the restaurant, he was picking her up at the manor. He knew that it was one of those old victorian style houses, but knowing it and seeing it were two different things. It was nerve wracking to walk up without a disguise or fake badge in hand, but this was the life he was leading now and he needed to get used to it. 

He rang the doorbell and ran a hand over his short hair, his ring scraping against his scalp in a familiar way that helped ground him. He hadn't met either of her sisters yet, but given how close they were, he guessed that Piper had told them about him. Chris lived here too, but they already knew each other. Instead of one of them though, a strange man opened the door, Wyatt in his arms. He frowned, shifting the child in his arms. "Who are you?" 

It was obvious he wanted an answer in relation to one of the people that lived here, but Dean never reacted well to people ordering him around like that. "Dean. And you are?" 

"Leo, Piper's husband." 

"Ex-husband, you mean," Dean corrected. 

Leo narrowed his eyes, but someone called his name from inside the house and he turned his head. With him not looking, Wyatt looked at Dean and did... something... with his eyes. They swirled with white and bright blue lights, but not just inside his head where his eyes actually were. It was more like a cover to his eyes, giving his entire face an ethereal glow. Normally Dean would be freaking out, trying to find out if Wyatt had been possessed or something, but-- and he knew it sounded crazy-- it felt like it wasn't evil. The usual monsters, they all _ felt _ evil when they did their freaky shit. When Wyatt had been doing that, Dean didn't feel any evil, he was just kinda confused as to why it was happening. Wyatt didn't look like he was in pain, and he seemed to have control over it-- whatever 'it' was. Wyatt stopped after a few seconds, in time to avoid being seen by anyone else. 

Dean continued to look at him, checking to make sure he wasn't hurt or otherwise compromised, but he seemed to be fine. His mood didn't change, even the way he was leaning in his father's arms stayed the same. In the old days, that wouldn't have stopped Dean from trying to figure out what creature was messing with him. Call it laziness if you want, but he was pretty sure there wasn't a creature affecting Wyatt, so he was going to leave it alone unless someone was in danger. 

"You must be Dean! Hi, I'm Paige," a woman said, coming up behind Leo with a large smile and shaking Dean's supernatural thoughts away. She gave Leo a stern, unsubtle look, then stuck out her hand. 

Dean shook it, smiling back at her. "Nice to meet you, I've heard good things." 

"Ooo you have, have you? Piper's been in such a good mood lately. She'll be right down, by the way, she's just fixing her make-up." 

Piper didn't really wear enough make-up that she ever needed to fix it, short of sobbing. His eyes flickered to Leo for an instant, and Paige mirrored the motion. They'd probably argued and Piper had gotten upset, so she wanted a few moments to collect herself. An ex-wife wasn't the best source of information on her old husband blah blah blah. Dean kinda hated the guy. "That's fine, I'm in no hurry," he said. 

"Why don't you come inside?" 

"Paige," Leo hissed. 

Paige threw him a glare, then went back to smiling at Dean as she stepped to the side and welcomed him in. 

"Jesus." Dean looked around at the interior of the manor. It was a gorgeous building, inside and out. Dark wood framework and a layout that definitely wasn't in style anymore. Of course, Dean had seen more than his fair share of old buildings in his ghost-busting days, so it wasn't that strange to him. So many parts of it screamed antique that he felt like he was going to mess something up just by standing here. 

"I had the same reaction the first time I saw this place," Paige stage-whispered, patting his arm as she passed. 

"You didn't grow up here?" Dean could've sworn that Piper said that she and her sisters lived here their whole lives. 

"Half-sister," Paige explained. She waved her hand vaguely. "There was a whole big thing where I met them for the first time a couple years ago, it's not very interesting." 

Dean was aware of Leo moving behind him, then going off to the side to continue playing with his son. 

"Is Phoebe here?" Chris asked, walking down the stairs as he scribbled on a piece of paper in his hands. 

"No, she's at work. Why?" 

"I need a little empath help on this one. If it's anything like I remember-" 

Paige pointedly cleared her throat and jerked her head at Dean. 

Chris looked up, saw him, then grinned. "Oh, hey Dean. When did you get here?" 

"Just a minute ago. How's it going, man?" 

"Great." 

"Great?" Paige echoed doubtfully. 

"A little busy," he allowed, and she nodded. 

"More than a little," she confided in Dean. "It's like I'm a social worker again: working all the damn time and not getting paid for most of it." 

"You could be busier," Chris said as he hit the ground floor, and while he meant it as comfort, it was pretty clear that Paige took it as a threat. 

"I am having my weekly game night with my friends, and you aren't taking that away from me, Chris." 

He held up his hands in surrender. "I'm not going to. These preemptive strikes are to help you keep that night open for you." 

"Oh my god, Chris," she groaned. "All we're doing are preemptive strikes. I'm going to burn out from all of the strikes." 

"How about we do this, and then we can talk about slowing down?" 

Dean was lost, but he appreciated how at ease they were with him in their space. Further confusion was halted when Piper hurried down the stairs. "Sorry I made you wait." 

"It's fine," he said. 

"No one bothered you?" 

"Nope." 

She gave a relieved smile, grabbing his hand as she passed and leading him back towards the door. "Great. Paige, Wyatt's bottle is in the fridge, and if I'm late there's baby food in the cabinet next to the fridge. Chris, don't go trying to take care of this yourself, wait until everyone's here." 

"Aw, come on." 

Piper ignored him and grabbed her purse from a hook near the door. She let go of Dean's hand to make sure she had her wallet and keys, then opened the door. "Call me if you need me!" she called. 

"We will." 

"Nice to meet you," Dean called over his shoulder. 

"You too!" Paige said, waving. 

Piper didn't say anything until they were in her SUV, pulling out of the driveway. "Sorry about that." 

"About what?" 

"Leo," she said, making a face. 

"Is he stalking you?" Dean asked gently. Divorces were messy. He hadn't had to deal with one first hand, thank fuck, but he knew how bad they could get. 

"No, nothing like that. I just wish he would give a little bit more notice before dropping by." There was a pause where she was deciding whether or not she wanted to keep complaining about him. "It's not like I want to keep his kids from him, you know? But he drops in, not caring if I have any plans, and I have to adjust to whatever _ he _ wants." 

"It's annoying," Dean said, and she nodded, fingers tightening on the steering wheel in aggravation. "Have you tried talking to him about it?" 

"I try, but it always turns into a fight about us, and my family, and our future, and it's..." She shook her head. "Sorry. Where did you want to get lunch?" 

* * *

There wasn't any harm in doorstep kissing, in Dean's opinion. Thankfully, Piper agreed, which was how they spent ten minutes kissing more than was publicly appropriate. Usually their dates were in the evenings and at his place, so they didn't have this problem. But she had a child to think about, not to mention whoever else was home that didn't want to see them necking on the couch. He had no idea how much longer they would have stood there if they hadn't been interrupted by the front door opening. 

And who should be standing there other than Leo. Thankfully, empty handed this time. "Piper," he said, voice sounding awfully judgmental to Dean's ears. He didn't know the guy, but it kinda sounded like Leo thought that since Piper was a mother and pregnant, that such behavior was unbecoming of her. 

"Did you need something Leo?" she asked, tone frosty. Her and Leo stared inhospitably at each other for several seconds, and it occurred to Dean that he was still wrapped around her-- they hadn't exactly broken the embrace when they were interrupted. 

"I should probably get going," Dean said, pressing another kiss to her mouth. "I've been putting off going to the store so long I'm about to have to live off of expired spaghetti-o’s." 

Piper laughed, pecking his cheek before they both straightened. 

Dean gave Leo a polite nod that was seen, then ignored. Whatever, at least he tried. He walked down the steps, glancing back automatically when he got to the bottom. Piper was stepping inside, in some sort of discussion with Leo. He made a face but continued towards his car; he hoped he hadn't made this worse for her since their relationship was such a mess even before he showed up. 

A quick trip to the store and a lazy round of laundry later, Dean was at P3 to help set up for the band that night-- Cathedrals, or something, he didn't really care. He hadn't been there for long before someone else arrived, strange enough considering that he was supposed to be alone for another hour. 

Chris showed up basically out of nowhere, as he was wont to do. 

"Hey man, what's up," Dean called from the stage where he was checking the speakers' connections. 

"Leo's an _ ass _," he said, growling the sentence out. 

"Well, you won't get any argument from me." 

Chris looked a little thrown. "Really?" 

Dean glanced up at him, confused by how Chris was confused. "Uh, yeah? I'm dating his ex-wife, even if he was great I don't think I'd like him. But he does kinda seem like a first grade douche nozzle." 

Chris chuckled, though he did seem a little surprised by it still. 

"What did he do to piss you off?" 

Chris wandered closer to the stage so they weren't yelling at each other across the room. "He was being his usual self," he said drily, shaking his head with disgust. "He was bitching about you, actually." 

"Oh yeah?" Dean found the idea _ very _ amusing, and he couldn't help but smirk. "What'd he say?" 

"The usual bullshit. He thinks you're not good enough for her." 

"Well of course I'm not. Piper's a goddamn five-star chef, I'm not sure any of us have earned that." 

Chris rolled his eyes. "Of course you're good enough for her. Piper loves cooking, she's not looking for someone that can cook just as much, that would only be competition." 

"If you say so." 

"Of course, after he said _ that_, he started going on about how she can't trust you, and that she should be thinking more about Wyatt and less about your-" Chris cleared his throat. "Uh, face." 

"I'm sure that's exactly what he said," Dean joked automatically, ignoring the stab of hurt at the idea that he couldn't be trusted. 

"He was pretty upset." 

"Why? I get that they used to be married, but the way Piper tells it, he’s the one that left her." 

"He did. He's also an entitled asshole that doesn't understand that when he's gone, she's not waiting around pining after him." 

"Sounds like you've got something personal against him," Dean noted, not expecting for Chris to give him an answer. At least, not anything deeper than 'yeah, I do'. 

"Like I said, he's an entitled asshole. Thinks that he's the best fucking thing since before sliced bread and won't hear anything that proves otherwise. Did you know that he thinks he and Piper are soulmates? _ Soulmates_, Dean. He never leaves her alone because he thinks they're meant for each other, even though they've only known each other- what, four years? Maybe five? And he was missing for a year or two when you consider all the times he vanished to help with the 'greater good'. He goes away, claims that she'll be able to move on with her life, and then he shows up and wonders why she's done it!" 

"Yep, sounds like a dickwad. Has she tried telling him to fuck off?" 

Chris sighed, heavy and aggravated. "At first she was too in love, and now she's thinking of Wyatt. Wyatt misses him when he's gone, and he's always so excited to see him that she doesn't want to take that away." 

Dean shrugged. He knew that Piper was tired of dealing with Leo for normal 'we used to be married and now we aren't' reasons, but until she told him that she wanted out of her life completely, he wasn't going to try and do anything about it. Respecting people's boundaries was exhausting, and it made him constantly nervous that something was going to go wrong. 

Dean's phone rang before the conversation could progress further, and he frowned as he went to answer it, wondering who the hell would be calling him when he was already at work. He flicked it open and held it between his ear and his shoulder as he wrangled a cord into place. "Hello?" 

"Hi Dean," Piper said, sounding frazzled. 

"Hey Piper, what's up?" 

"Is Chris with you?" 

He glanced up, and Chris sighed and nodded when he realized it was about him. "Yeah." 

"Could you please tell him to get to the manor?" 

"Sure thing." 

"Thank you. Oh, and when you get home from the club would you call me? I wanted to talk to you about something." 

Trying to ignore the tension now wriggling in his stomach, he said, "Yeah sure." They both hung up. "Piper said she wants you home." 

"Did she say why?" 

"Nah, but I'm sure everything's fine. See you round?" 

"Definitely," Chris said with all the confidence of someone that had Plans, yes with a capital 'p'. 

Dean continued to set up. There weren't any problems, but the unease he felt from Piper's off-hand comment stuck with him the rest of the night. Wanting to talk to him about something wasn't _ necessarily _ bad, and it certainly wasn't the word-for-word statement 'we need to talk' that would have scared the shit out of him. It was just... this was his first real relationship, and he didn't want to fuck it up. Piper was amazing, and unlike the brief flashes of could-have-been's that he'd had with some other women, he could actually see a future with her. The thought that this was going to end had him off-kilter, and for a moment, he toyed with the idea of not calling Piper like she had asked. He dismissed it before it could really take hold though, dialing as he was getting into his car to leave. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey Piper, it's Dean. I'm heading to my apartment now." 

"Okay, I'll meet you there?" 

"Sounds good. See you soon." 

* * *

Phoebe and Paige were sitting at the big dining room table, waiting for Piper to join them like she had asked before she'd grabbed Chris and dragged him into another room. 

"Chris," she said, voice deadly serious, "I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me." 

"Piper, there are things I _ can't _ tell you." 

"Fuck future consequences! You were so sure that everything would fall apart if you told me that I was your mother, and look at us. Everything is fine. If anything, we're working together better now than we were before. So _ yes _, I'm going to ask you this, and I expect you to tell me the truth." 

Chris continued to stare at her, but then he gave a curt nod, arms crossed over his chest. "As long as it's not going to change history in a bad way." 

Piper accepted it because she doubted that she would be able to change his mind. Stubbornness really did run in the family, of that much they could agree. "You know Dean from the future." 

Chris didn't have to say a word for her to know the truth; his face gave it away in an instant. 

Fortunately, that wasn't the part she'd needed to know. She'd already suspected that, but what needed answering was, "Does he know about magic?" 

"He does." 

"And it doesn't bother him at all?" 

Chris shook his head. "Not that I ever heard about, but I was a kid." 

"So we end up together." 

"Piper," Chris warned. 

"Is that why you hate Leo so much? Because you think of Dean as your father?" And if Dean were around as her husband and Chris's father, there was no chance that he and Leo got along, which would explain why Chris had major issues with the Elder. 

"I'm not answering that." 

Piper narrowed her eyes at him, but she dropped the subject; she had learned what she needed to know. She headed for the door, then paused. "Thank you, Chris." She went down the stairs, meeting her sisters at the table. Her hand smoothed over her unmistakably pregnant stomach as she lowered herself into a seat. This was a decision that affected all of them, and no matter how much she loved Dean, she had to run it by them first. Chris's confirmation that Dean would be okay with it in the future would certainly help, especially with Jason's recent anti-magic reaction a few weeks ago. 

"What's this all about?" Phoebe asked, looking concerned. 

"Is it about Dean?" 

Phoebe looked to her, dropping her hand to the table from where it had been propping up her head. "Dean? Why would it be about him?" 

"He came by earlier; Leo didn't take it well," Paige summarized. 

"Aw Piper, you're not breaking up with him are you? You know we adore Leo, but I haven't felt you be this happy in a long time. I don't want you to throw this away just because he's a little uncomfortable." 

"No, it's not like that at all." Piper's hand continued stroking over her belly as she thought. "I want to tell Dean that we're witches." 

"What?" Phoebe asked at the same time that Paige said, "I beg your pardon?" 

"Chris knows him. In the future." 

"He told you that?" Paige asked doubtfully. 

"He didn't exactly volunteer the information," Piper said, "but he gets along so well with Dean that I figured it out. I asked, and he told me that Dean does know about magic in the future and that he was okay with it." 

"...And if he's not?" Phoebe ventured. Someone had to say it, and it might as well be her. "What if too much has changed? We know that Chris messed with the timeline. Even if you and Leo always ended up separated, it happened a lot later in the time he came from." 

"I know." Piper didn't say anything for a minute, then sighed. "_I__f _ he doesn't take it well, I'll cast a memory spell so he doesn't remember it, and he can go on with his life like normal. I don't think that's going to happen," she added. "He's been nothing but supportive the entire time we've been together." 

"We know," Paige said, and there was the same sympathetic on her face as was on Phoebe's. "From what you've told us, Dean's the best boyfriend ever." 

"But?" 

Paige hesitated. "But how much do you really know about him? Before he started working at P3, I mean." 

"It doesn't matter." 

"I'm all for letting the past stay behind you, but we don't know that it is behind him," Phoebe said. "Sometimes running isn't enough to escape it entirely. Let me get a read on him first. If it turns out okay, then- yeah, okay, you can tell him and we'll deal with the consequences later-- whatever they might be." 

She had thought it was a reasonable offer, but Piper was shaking her head. "I trust him, and I trust Chris. I'd like it if you both trusted _ me _ with this. I want Dean to be part of this family, and that's never going to work if I trick him at the start." 

Phoebe and Paige shared a long look before nodding slowly. "We trust you," Paige said. 

"Just let us know how it goes," Phoebe added. "We've all been there." 

"Thank you." Piper pushed herself up from her seat and headed for the door. 

"You're telling him right now?" Phoebe asked, clearly surprised. 

"Why wait?" 

"Piper, it's late. Can't this wait until tomorrow?" 

She ignored it. She didn't know why-- normally this would have been something that could wait till the next day-- but this felt too important to let sit. She wouldn’t be able to get any sleep with this hanging over her head. "Either this goes well and I don't have to worry anymore, or he's going to freak out, in which case I don't want to have to wait for the shit to hit the fan." 

It was clear they were still uneasy, but they let Piper leave without any further protests. The front door to the manor shut, and Phoebe and Paige shared another look. "I hope she's okay." 

"She will be," Phoebe said. "Piper's been through worse than a bad break up; at least Dean won't try to kill her." 

"Yeah," Paige muttered. She glanced at the door, unable to help worrying. In this family, emotional pain could have apocalyptic level consequences. 

* * *

Dean opened the door bare seconds after a knock sounded. He'd been pacing the small apartment in worry for the conversation that was coming. "Hey." He turned to the side to let her in, then closed the door and re-locked it automatically. "What did you want to talk about?" 

"Okay, um." Piper took a deep breath. "Do you believe in magic?" 

He blinked. "Uh, I mean." Yeah. Why the hell would she be bringing it up though? She wasn't a hunter, and there's no way she was some sort of creature. He definitely would have realized if she was hurting people in the time they had been dating. "Why?" 

"Well," she said, smiling tremulously, "now's a good time to start." There was a box of granola bars on his little table, and Piper walked over to it. She pushed it off the edge of the table and, with a flick of her fingers, it froze midair, the two individually wrapped bars stuck trying to fall out of the cardboard but unable to go anywhere. 

Dean scrambled back automatically, too used to running at signs of the supernatural to stay still. 

Piper's expression went tight and sad. She grabbed the box from where it was hovering and righted it on the table. "I'm a witch." 

She said it so easily, like she wasn't admitting to making a deal with a goddamn demon to get her powers. Though, Dean had never met a witch that could do what she did. Hex bags and rituals, that's what he was used to, not... raw power like she seemed to have. 

"Me and my sisters, we're good witches," she continued. "We help innocents and fight demons to keep the world safe." 

"That's not possible," Dean said. If a witch was out there working against demons, their deal would be revoked, it was as simple as that. 

Piper frowned, confused. 

"There's no such thing as good witches. They get their powers from demons, it's- what you're talking about doesn't exist." 

"It's in our blood. I don't know what weird ass witches you've met that got their powers from demons, Dean, but I'm nothing like them." 

Dean swallowed. What he'd been taught was fighting what he knew about Piper, and eventually one of them would win out. "Wyatt's eyes, was that a good witch thing?" 

"What about Wyatt's eyes?" she asked, alarmed. 

"He did a-" Dean put a hand up by the side of his face and wiggled his fingers "-light thing with them. All blue and white. Can you do that too?" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but maybe I should ask Leo about it sometime. Um, anyways, I think yes, that's a good witch thing." She made a face. "Sort of. When did he do that?" 

"This afternoon when I was by the manor." 

"That's..." she blew out a breath, running a hand through her hair. "I'll look into it. This isn't really how I thought this conversation was going to go. Have you dealt with demons before?" 

"Yeah. Except, all the witches I met were evil. I didn't know there was such a thing as good ones." 

"I feel like we're in two different worlds. Evil witches are pretty rare-- or at least I thought they were. Normally they turn into warlocks instead of holding onto being a witch, and I certainly haven’t met any that got their powers from demons" Piper paused as Dean digested that. "Are you okay with this? With magic when you’ve dealt with evil like that? I want it to work between us, and I need you to be honest with me. Because if this isn't something you can deal with, then we should call it off now, before you get hurt." 

"It's definitely different," Dean said, rubbing at his forehead. "I thought maybe you were breaking up with me because of Leo, and instead you're a witch. A _ good _ witch. Shit's wild." 

"You don't look like you're freaking out. Not too much anyways, that's good." 

Dean held up his hand, pinching his fingers closely together with about a centimeter of space between them. "Only freaking out this much. That's all, I swear. Give me a day and I'll get over it." 

"Does that mean I should wait to tell you everything?" 

Dean peered at her suspiciously. "What do you mean 'everything'? Is magic not all of it?" 

"It's most of it," she admitted. 

He sighed, walking over to the couch and collapsing onto it. "Lay it on me." 

"Chris is from the future." 

"He _ what_?" 

"He's uh, also my kid." 

Dean blinked, hoping that the words would make more sense in a few seconds; they didn't. "What?" 

"Wyatt and Chris are brothers. Something happens to him in the future, and Chris came back to change it." 

He took another deep breath and rubbed at his eyes. A drink would make this a little easier to digest, but he wasn't sure he'd like _ himself _better that way. "So the kid you're pregnant with right now, that's Chris." 

"Yeah." She sat down on the couch next to him, leaning back carefully. 

"Isn't that kinda weird?" he asked, glancing over at her. "Talking to him when you know that you're going to be raising him in a few years?" 

"At times." Hesitantly, she laid a hand on his arm. "Are you sure you're okay? This can wait till morning." 

"Don't try and get out of this now, I said lay it on me. C'mon, what else is there?" 

"Me and my sisters are the most powerful good witches of all time. At least until Wyatt came along. We had prophecies about us, sure, but he's known as the twice-blessed. It's said that he'll be the end of the Underworld." 

"I'm sure once I know more, that will scare the shit out of me." 

"It scares me," she offered, like that would make him feel better. It did a little, but for the most part, he was worried. 

There was a long silence as Dean thought it over and Piper patiently waited. 

"Piper…,” he said hesitantly, “do you want me as a husband? Some day?" 

"I thought the answer to that was pretty obvious." 

"It's not. And- what about your family?" 

"What about them? They know that I'm telling you all of this." 

"Wait a second," Dean said. "Your family. And Chris. Who is from the goddamn future. Did he- are we together in the future?" 

"According to Chris, we are. Of course, he didn't bother to tell me that until I asked him about it earlier tonight. He has this whole thing about not interfering with the past more than is necessary." 

If Dean wasn't already sitting down, he would need to after hearing that. "Well. I guess that answers that." 

"Sorry. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it like that. I've had a lot of time to get used to Chris's tidbits about the future." 

"It's not that." He paused, then added, "Not just that. I knew this was going somewhere, but it sounds like you've already decided that you want to end up with me." 

Piper swallowed. "Is that bad?" 

"I don't know." Dean sighed, head knocking back. This was overwhelming, and he wasn't really used to that. He was used to stress, sure, but nothing like this. Emotional bullshit wasn't exactly his area of expertise. And okay, maybe this wasn't 'bullshit', but still, it's not like he knew what he was doing. "Okay, no, it's not. This is just going to take getting used to." 

"Take all the time you need. I know this is a lot, I just needed to know if it was something you _ could _ handle." 

"Do I pass?" 

"With flying colors," she said with a smile. "I'm not asking you to move in tomorrow, Dean. You have time." 

"Yeah." He blew out a breath. "Yeah, okay." 

She pat his leg, then used her hold on his knee to help push herself up. "I'm going to head back home." 

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"Or you can drop by. Someone will be home and the door's never locked, you can walk right in." 

"You don't lock your door?" 

She shrugged. "Demon's kept breaking it. They still do sometimes, but a lot less than before." 

Dean stood up to walk her to the door. "Sounds like a pain in the ass." 

"I'm sure you'll get used to it with enough time." 

"I'm sure I will." He bent down and kissed her goodbye. "See you tomorrow." 

After Piper left, he locked the door and went back to the couch. His phone was in his hands, and he toyed with it for a while before typing in a familiar number and hitting call. He wasn't surprised when it rang off the hook to voicemail, but in all that time he still didn't know what he was going to say. The beep sounded, and he still didn't know. There was a pause, and he had to say _ something_. Anything. "Hey Sam. It's Dean." He swallowed. "I was thinking about you, wanted to make sure you were okay. I'm-" he started to say where he was, but what would be the point? It's not like Sam would take the week off to come see him. "I want to catch up, see how college has been for you. So uh, give me a call if you want. Bye." He flipped the phone shut, then closed his fist around it and knocked his knuckles against his skull. "Real smooth there, Dean. Real smooth." 

* * *

**Epilogue**

Dean was living in the manor, adult Chris had died, baby Chris had been born, Wyatt was safe again, and Leo was back to being an Elder, only dropping in once a month to visit with his sons (though personally, Dean felt like he was only there to see Wyatt, not Chris). Guns didn't work against demons, which was a pain in the ass, but Piper had handed him labeled potions that he kept on him just in case. He'd thought it was stupid at first, but after the third attack when it was just him and the kids, he saw the point of it. 

The doorbell rang, and Dean picked up Chris before walking to answer it. If it was a demon, that was bad, but he couldn't exactly leave him there all by himself. Besides, Dean's reaction time was getting better, and if they were bothering to ring instead of bursting in, his chances were pretty good. 

With Chris settled on his left hip so his right hand was free, he answered the door. Then froze-- figuratively, not because of a power. "Sammy?" 

"Uh, hey Dean. What's with the baby?" 

"Oh," Dean said, glancing at Chris. He wracked his brain for a quick answer and came up blank. "It's complicated. What are you doing here?" 

Sam shrugged, his posture tense and uncomfortable. "You said I could visit you if I wanted." 

"Yeah," Dean said, surprised. He'd called Sam several times over the past six months, but it had always gone to voicemail. He hadn't even been sure that Sam was listening to them, so it was definitely a shock to have him show up like this. "Of course." He opened the door wider and Sam stepped inside. He had a backpack over his shoulder, and he looked good. Healthy. Nothing like the haggard, worn out look he'd had when they were on the road together. "I'm surprised you didn't call first." 

"Is that a problem?" Sam asked nervously. 

Dean shook his head. "Just surprised. How's college been?" 

"Good. Normal. What about you?" 

"Less normal, but still good." 

"Dean," Sam said, his voice dropping so it wouldn't carry, "you're not still hunting are you?" 

He shook his head, walking towards the sun-room where Chris's playpen currently was. "It's complicated, but everything's good." 

"Are you going to explain that or do I get to guess why you're in an expensive house with a baby?" 

"He's my step-son." 

"What? You got married? Why didn't you invite me, I would've shown up sooner if I'd known." 

"No, I- sorry. We're not married yet, but," Dean shrugged. It was hard to explain that they knew they were going to end up together, and even harder to explain that they were technically engaged, they just hadn't gotten around to going to the courthouse yet. Mostly that was Dean's fault, since he was still trying to get everything in order so he _ could _ get married. 

"So... you're living with some woman you met less than a year ago, and you're helping raise her kid? Where is she? Does she even know about the supernatural world? What's her name?" 

"Sammy, I love you, but you've got to chill. Believe it or not, I'm capable of looking after myself." 

Sam still looked skeptical, but he didn't say anything further about it. Not that he didn't want to, but the door opened before he could think of something different to say. 

Dean craned his neck to see who it was, then went back to normal. "Hey Phoebe. I thought you were at work. Nothing bad, right?" 

"Nope, just wanted to check in with one of my favorite nephews." She rounded the corner, eyes glancing over Sam before she walked to Chris and planted a kiss on his head. She set her purse on the little side table next to her chair and flopped down. "Also Elise has been on my ass about doing more publicity, and I just-." She made a face, shuddering exaggeratedly. 

"Didn't you already do the publicity shtick and hate it?" 

"I didn't hate it, I was just running away from thinking about my demon ex-husband," she said rolling her eyes. Sam didn't react, assuming that she was using hyperbole. Dean wasn't going to correct that assumption because what did it matter? Phoebe's ex was history, and it was in the big long list of things Dean didn't feel like explaining right now. "It's very different." 

"If you say so. Anyways, this is my brother, Sam. Sam, this is Phoebe, one of Piper's sisters. Be nice." 

"I'm always nice," Phoebe protested. 

"I think he was talking to me," Sam said with a wry smile. 

"I was. Do you know how long you're in town for?" 

"Just the weekend." He shrugged, scratching at his head as he added, "Maybe only today, you know how it is." By which he meant: if things go badly between us, I'm going to head back to college and mope about our poor relationship for a while. Dean got it, and in their family that's pretty much how things worked. 

"You should have dinner with us tonight and meet everybody," Phoebe offered. "Dean's told us a lot about you, it would be nice to get to know you for ourselves." 

"Uh, who's 'everybody'?" 

"Me, Paige, and Piper. Dean, and the boys." 

"The boys?" 

"Wyatt and Chris, Piper's sons. But, you know, Wyatt's not a big talker so it'll basically be you, your brother, and the three of us. Five's not a very big dinner party, and if it helps, no matter how awkward it gets, it won't be the worst meal we've had." 

"You sound pretty certain about that," Sam noted. 

"Maybe I'll tell the story at dinner." 

Sam laughed, glancing at Dean. 

Dean nodded, and Sam looked back towards Phoebe. "Sure, dinner sounds great. You sure it's not too short notice?" 

"Course not, Piper likes working on a deadline." 

"I'm not sure that's true," Dean said. "But she will be happy to meet you." 

They chit-chatted for a while, skipping all the heavier topics since Phoebe was there. When Piper showed up, Dean tilted his head automatically for a kiss, and Piper gave it. Sam looked surprised, but-- Dean hoped-- he also looked happy for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't clear, Chris was surprised that Dean was open about not liking Leo because in his time, Dean was being a good step-father and not talking shit about Chris's birth father


End file.
